- CFA Exams
- Forums
- General Forum
- Topic: how to use mock tests and general burn out issue
Author | Topic: how to use mock tests and general burn out issue |
---|---|
zjarkas @2017-11-25 05:41:34 |
Hi, I see how everyone say mock tests are the best study source, i am at a stage where i feel so burned out and i simply just need advise how to tackle the mock tests. So far i finished two, 2016, 2017 and both scored about 62% on average, i know, i feel like i cant remember anything and forget stuff in two three days. When you use mock, do you read and figure out all the keys points behind every question or you only go through the mistake you made? I feel like going through everything is going to take a lot of time. But i am not sure how the best way to push myself into a safe zone :/ Also a general rant, I honestly don't know what I can do now, I have studied 400 hours plus and did all the questions behind notes and books but I cant retain anything, I am not sure if anyone has encountered this before or can provide me any advise? I have a week left and i feel really really burnt out, what are your guys advise? This whole experience has been excruciating beyond my expectation considering I have a job requires 10 hours a day and i have been for 3 month get up at 7:30 and sleep at 2 am just to study. I see a lot of people mention how they get it done in 200 hours, but I have no idea why I cant retain anything maybe this is just not for me. I don't think I am stupid and I have a highly competitive job in consulting but this is just painful. I was doing 2015 mock test today and I am just getting angry and had to stop in the middle of the afternoon session because it is just too frustrating. Anyway, I am going to give my best shot and see how it goes since I have come this far, I see people mention the actual tests are mostly about concepts and understanding, should I go back go through key concepts on notes and just go through my old practice questions and see what I got wrong? or you go through all the concepts you are not familiar on mock? or combine both? thanks for the help |
ilang @2017-11-26 04:47:59 |
From my personal experience studying after a long day at work doesn’t really help (at least it doesn’t help me) after such study sessions I can’t retain much and feel burned out on the weekends. That is why I have decided to focus on weekends only. I use mocks in the following way: I have sheet of paper with 3 columns. (Sure | not so sure | no idea). Each time I answer a question I put it into one column or another depending on how sure I am about the answer. I complete one session (timed) and grade it and see If my right answers were due to my knowledge or pure luck. After that I start a review of all the questions I have answered incorrectly and those in columns “not so sure” and “no idea”. If I have conceptional difficulties I look into study material or this forum. Next day I go through the next session and complete the same procedure. Day three, I redo the exam without time. When answering every question I write an explanation why I choose which answer and why other answers are incorrect. This seems to work the best for me. |
meena02 @2017-11-29 21:24:35 |
I totally get the burnout... I work full time at a demanding job and I also have a family which includes a busy 12 year old and an husband who travels during the week. If you’re studying for the L1 test on Saturday it’s probably a little late to make adjustments in your study schedule this time. But in the future, figure out your entire study schedule topic by topic, day by day and then build in days off and then days where you know you can devote 6-8 hours of study. Having a schedule like this has really helped me avoid burnout just by knowing what I’m supposed to be doing each day and not feeling like I need to cram as much into every study session as possible. As for the mocks, I review every question/answer: For the ones that I’m positive about, I’m really just reading the answer explanation for additional information i.e. the question was about the capital account but the answer explanation also reviews the other two accounts. Then there’s also the chance that I could have been partially right and/or guessed correctly so I review the answer just to be sure that I fully understand the reasoning and that I didn’t just guess well from a partial recall of information. And then of course for the questions that I had no idea on, I go back and review those really well. This process might take a little more time but it works for me, my mock scores continue to improve and probably most important, my confidence is building. |
harstad200 @2019-05-14 21:51:25 |
Just saw this post and thought I would offer to 2018 June exam takers. What I did most in the last few days before the exam: 1. Selected a handful of important question types that were my weakest points (for me it was FRA, FI, Corp Fin), and redid them until I felt more confident. Reread a few important concepts from these questions. 2. Did many Ethics practice questions to become familiar with question formats, styles, and likely answer choices. 3. Kept attempting new mock exams to monitor improvement. By doing those few things, I did see meaningful improvement in my weakest points during those last few days. Sometimes this can make a difference between pass and fail, sometimes not. Emotional and mental state management: 1. I accepted my performance and the likelihood of passing, and became okay with whatever the outcome might be. 2. Kind of just observed the anxiety and self doubt (most common at this stage) going through my mind, and not react to it whatsoever. Like pretending those are thoughts of someone else and not mine. Good luck to you. |